Swedbank AB Raises Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 11.3%, acquiring an additional 33,238 shares, bringing its total holdings to 328,134 shares valued at approximately $35.3 million.
• Prudential Financial reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $3.58 for the recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.22, despite a 2.5% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 5.2%, with a high payout ratio of 119.73%.

Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 11.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 328,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 33,238 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.09% of Prudential Financial worth $35,255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PRU. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Prudential Financial by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,440,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $495,859,000 after purchasing an additional 116,079 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Prudential Financial by 19.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,206,453 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $469,777,000 after purchasing an additional 678,028 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Prudential Financial by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,801,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $201,201,000 after purchasing an additional 95,021 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Prudential Financial by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,751,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $183,571,000 after purchasing an additional 216,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Prudential Financial by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,284,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $143,449,000 after purchasing an additional 29,025 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total transaction of $438,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,358,132.90. The trade was a 15.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $102.88. 556,077 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,756,021. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.07. The business's 50-day moving average price is $105.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.15. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $13.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.47 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is 119.73%.

Prudential Financial Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Life, and International Businesses segments.